1314 THE ELECTROLYTIC ADMINISTRATION OF DRUGS.

abrading material is used without the admixture of grease ;and any other finishing process after grinding in which dustis created to an extent liable to be injurious to health. Thenew regulations are thus summarised in the Home Officecircular :-

Regulation 1 requires, in dry grinding of metal (that is, "the dryabrasion of metal, with the aid of mechanical power, by means of agrindstone or of a grinding wheel made of compressed emery or othersimilar composition") and in dusty finishing processes, adequate meansfor intercepting and removing the dust given off. These means includeefficient hoods, ducts, exhaust draught, and arrangements for thedisposal of the dust. The exhaust can be produced either by a fan, orby any other equally efficient means that can be devised. Recentexperiments indicate that some assistance in this direction can beobtained by utilising the draught from the revolving grindstone orwheel itself. Regulation 2 deals with the racing of grindstones, whetherused’ for wet or dry grinding. The requirement is that this processshall not be carried on without effectual means for preventing theescape of dust into the room, and two modes of compliance are

suggested : (1) racing under a cover, with exhaust draught, and (2) wet-racing, that is directing a stream of water upon the point of contact ofthe racing tool with the grindstone. The former mode is used in

Germany, the latter has been successfully tried experimentally atSheffield. The Regulation, however, admits of any other mode ofracing, equally efficient in suppressing dust, that can be devised.Regulation 3 is concerned with the general sanitary condition of theworkrooms.

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THE ELECTROLYTIC ADMINISTRATION OFDRUGS.

IN the Pharmaceutical Journal of Sept. 19th Mr. T. MaltbyClague contributes some useful suggestions regarding theelectrolytic administration of drugs recently referred to inTHE LANCET under the name cataphoresis.

" It dependsupon the decomposition of a solution of a salt by an electriccurrent and applying one of the poles to the part of the bodywhere the local action of a particular element is desired. In

the case of sodium salicylate, for example, the sodium ionspass to the negative pole and the salicylic ions to the positive.Considerable impetus was given to this line of work by somestriking experiments of Professor Leduc of the University ofNantes. Two rabbits were taken and an ear of one was

strapped to an ear of the other by a pad of moist lint. To

the outer ears were attached pads moistened with a solutionof strychnine and joined to a battery of cells. On passingthe current the rabbit connected with the positive pole diedimmediately through receiving an electrolytic charge of

strychnine, and on reversing the current the second rabbitdied. The experiment was repeated with potassium cyanide,with the result that the rabbit connected with the negativepole died. Drugs administered in this form act with

rapidity in relatively small quantities and good results havebeen obtained by various investigators with quinine, lithiumsalts, salicylates, iodides, local anaesthetics, and other sub-stances. Dr. Lewis Jones found that warts could be removed

electrolytically by using magnesium sulphate without causingpain or leaving a scar. Corns, too, readily yield to sodiumsalicylate. It is interesting to note that ions may be removedfrom the body with equal ease. A patient had several blackpatches on the face produced many years before by anointment containing arsenic. The patient’s hand was placedin a vessel of water with the positive pole from a battery ofsix cells. A pad of wet lint was then placed over one of theblack spots and connected for 15 minutes with the negativepole. It was then noticed that the disfiguring patch had dis-appeared from the skin while the pad readily showed thepresence of arsenic. ’ Mr. Clague suggests that the positivewire in contact with the patient should be one that does notelectrolyse under the conditions of the work ; platinum is

always safe and aluminium is very useful, but poles of iron,copper, or silver are to be avoided. A milliampere-meter inthe circuit is a convenience, especially to a new worker. It

is of great importance to use simple salts as far as possible.In illustration, if a weak alcoholic solution of strychninehydrochloride be put into a dialyser standing in a vessel of

water and a small current of from 10 to 15 milliamperes bepassed, strychnine will be detected in the outer vessel within

a few minutes and on reversing the current it will as quicklybe driven back. But if a stronger current be used paralde-hyde will be formed by decomposition of the alcohol. The

intensity of the electric current required in cataphoresis is solow that patients rarely experience any difficulty in bearingthe process.

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UNCERTIFIED CAUSES OF DEATH.

THE neglect of successive Governments to take any legislativeaction for securing the due certification of causes of death,the necessity for which was so strongly urged in the reportof Sir Walter Foster’s departmental committee, we mustcontinue to regret. It is, however, satisfactory to be able tonote that the proportion of uncertified causes of death in

England and Wales is constantly declining, and further thatthe mean percentage of uncertified deaths in the 76 largest.English towns is now under 1 per cent. The Registrar-General’s weekly returns show that during the 13 weeks oflast quarter the causes of 473 deaths in these 76 towns werenot certified, equal to 0 9 per cent. of the total deaths, andcorresponding with the mean proportion in the third quartersof the three preceding years. The wide variations, however,in the proportion of uncertified deaths among these 76 townsare very noteworthy and accentuate what has been so oftenurged in these columns, that, desirable as legislative actionin this matter undoubtedly is, due cooperation between localauthorities and coroners may, even under present legislativeconditions, secure due certification of all causes of death, atany rate in urban populations. During last quarter the causeof every death was duly certified in West Ham, Croydon,Willesden, East Ham, Walthamstow, and Tottenham amongthe metropolitan urban districts ; and also in Brighton,Derby, Southampton, Plymouth, York, Devonport,Ipswich, West Hartlepool, and Great Yarmouth. In

the county of London the causes of all but 17of the 14,984 deaths during the quarter were dulycertified, and the proportion of uncertified causes didnot exceed 0 ’ 2 per cent. in Leeds or in Newcastle-on-Tyne,and was but 0 - 3 per cent. in Bristol and in Bradford. In

striking contrast to these satisfactory low percentages ofuncertified causes the following figures call for notice and

for the special attention of the several local authorities. In

Liverpool 2’ 1 per cent. of the causes of death last quarterwere uncertified, and in Bootle the proportion was equal to2’ 9 per cent. In other Lancashire towns the percentage ofuncertified causes was equal to 2 - 8 in St. Helens and to noless than 4 - 5 both in Preston and in Warrington. In Sheffieldthe percentage of these uncertified causes was equal to 2 8 andin Birmingham to 3’ 5; in South Shields and Gateshead to 3’ 7and 4’2 per cent. respectively. Why the proportion of un-certified causes of death should be more than 20 times as

high in Liverpool as in London and 14 times as high inSheffield as in Leeds, under identical legislative conditions,seems to call for explanation. Can it be solely, due to

the exercise of individual discretion on the part of localcoroners as to the desirability of holding inquests con-

cerning uncertified deaths ? It may be noted that com-

pared with the mean proportions in the three precedingcorresponding quarters, the percentage of uncertifiedcauses showed a slight reduction in Liverpool, St. Helens,South Shields, and Gateshead; while, on the other hand,the proportions last quarter showed a more or less decidedincrease in Sheffield, Birmingham, Bootle, Preston, and

Warrington. It is a well-known fact that a very largeproportion of uncertified causes of death occur amonginfants and young children, and in view of much neglectand consequent, waste of child-life, especially in urban

districts, and of the practically universal adoption of

child insurance in our industrial population, it should be